By Sarah NEGEDU
Resident doctors in Abuja have suspended their indefinite strike and will return to work on Monday after the Senate waded into the dispute that crippled health services in public hospitals across the Federal Capital Territory.
The Association of Resident Doctors, FCTA, ARD-FCTA, which shut down all 14 district and general hospitals over unpaid salaries and poor working conditions, said the decision to resume was temporary since none of its demands had been met.
President of the association, Dr George Ebong, told journalists that, “We are suspending the strike to begin work at 8 a.m. Monday morning. The Senate Committee on Federal Territory Area Councils and Ancillary Matters, chaired by David Jimkuta, intervened. Even though none of our demands have been met yet, they assured us that they will talk to the minister, and the Congress has decided to believe what the Senate has said. We also appreciate the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, for his interventions.”
The doctors are demanding payment of salary arrears of between one and six months for members employed since 2023, settlement of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund, and arrears from the 25–35 per cent upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure.
They are also pressing for the recruitment of new staff, conversion of post-Part II Fellows to consultants within six months, timely promotions with arrears paid, renovation and equipping of hospitals, as well as settlement of outstanding wage award and hazard allowance arrears.
Ebong stressed that the doctors’ congress would reconvene to review progress on the Senate’s intervention. “If nothing is done within the agreed timeframe, the Congress will take the next line of action,” he warned.
